Lamb‐buying preferences of Canadian abattoirs and producer marketing groups: implications for the Canadian supply chain

The Canadian lamb industry is small compared to lamb industries in many other countries and the supply chain for lamb is weak and fragmented. Without improvements in the flow of information, product quality and continuity of supply, the formal supply chain in Canada may collapse and Canadian lamb will become a local cottage industry with the retail chain and institutional markets serviced by offshore suppliers. Examines one of the key interfaces in the Canadian lamb supply chain. Conjoint analysis is used to assess the attitudes of the major commercial buyers of lambs ‐ abbatoirs and producer marketing groups ‐ towards key attributes of the lamb supply chain. The relative importance of a number of characteristics are assessed: a regular supplier, the basis of payment, reduced handling of lambs from farm to abattoir and the price paid for the lambs.